Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to discuss all details regarding the end of the war with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, August 18.
“I intend to discuss all details regarding the end of the killings and the end of the war with President Trump in Washington on Monday.
I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Saturday after a telephone conversation with Trump.
The president said that the long and substantive conversation with the American leader was first one-on-one and then also with the participation of European leaders. In total, the leaders spoke for more than an hour and a half, about an hour with Trump.
“Ukraine once again confirms that it is ready to work as productively as possible for peace. President Trump informed me about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of the conversation. It is important that America’s strength influences the development of the situation,” Zelensky said.
He noted that Ukraine supports Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia.
“Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the leadership level, and the trilateral format is suitable for this,” the Ukrainian president added.
He also stressed the importance of involving Europe at all stages to ensure reliable security together with the US.
The leaders discussed positive signals from the US side regarding participation in ensuring Ukraine’s security.
“We continue to coordinate our positions with all partners. Thank you to everyone who is helping,” the president concluded.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OTP Leasing, the largest company in the Ukrainian market, have announced the launch of a EUR50 million risk sharing facility (RSF) to increase financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as mid-cap companies in Ukraine for energy and energy efficiency needs.
“This initiative aims to finance sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, trade, energy, and logistics, focusing primarily on sustainable energy solutions that enhance Ukraine’s energy resilience,” the IFC said in a press release on Friday.
Under the RSF, the IFC will assume up to 50% of the credit risk for a maximum amount of EUR 25 million. The project’s 10% capital cost compensation mechanism (up to a total of EUR 6 million) will encourage lessees to choose sustainable solutions over more polluting alternatives.
It is noted that against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion and high risk, private sector lending has declined, with corporate lending falling from 12.8% of GDP in 2021 to 9.2% of GDP in 2024, while the leasing sector, as a critical alternative to lending, contracted by 59.4% in 2022 and has only partially recovered thanks to support from the state and assistance from international development finance institutions.
In addition, since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has lost almost two-thirds of its power generation capacity, highlighting the need for decentralized and sustainable energy systems.
“Thanks to the current RSF, OTP Leasing will be able to offer more leasing deals to traditionally underfinanced SMEs and mid-caps in Ukraine that prioritize small-scale renewable energy generation and energy-efficient sustainable projects, particularly climate-smart agriculture and green transport,” the IFC noted.
IFC’s participation in the RSF and the capital cost compensation mechanism are supported by the IFC’s Economic Resilience Action Program (ERA) for Ukraine, funded by the UK Department for International Development with EUR10 million.
Andrew Okenden, the UK’s Chargé d’Affaires in Kyiv, noted that the UK strongly supports Ukraine’s green and sustainable economic recovery, and that this approach reflects the key priorities of the 100-year Partnership Agreement signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.
According to IFC Regional Manager for Ukraine Lisa Kestner, the new agreement will increase access to finance for Ukrainian businesses, particularly in critical sectors such as agribusiness, manufacturing, and logistics. “Our initiative will help businesses invest in sustainable energy solutions such as climate-smart agriculture, small-scale renewable energy generation, and energy efficiency projects,” she emphasized.
Since February 2022, IFC, as part of its Economic Resilience Action Program (ERA) for Ukraine, has provided $2.5 billion in support to Ukraine’s private sector, including $940 million in mobilized financing.
According to IFC, as of March 31, 2025, OTP Leasing had approximately 33.6% of the Ukrainian market share in terms of leasing portfolio ($330.5 million in outstanding lease transactions). The company provides financial leasing and fleet management services to SMEs and mid-caps throughout the country. The company is wholly owned by Hungary’s OTP Bank Plc.
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If a trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin takes place, the war could end before Christmas (December 25), according to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
“If a trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, President Zelensky and Putin takes place, I am cautiously optimistic that this war will end well before Christmas,” he wrote on social media.
“If the meeting does not take place, I think President Trump could impose serious consequences on Putin and those who buy his oil and gas,” Graham predicts.
In January-July of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of semi-finished products made of carbon steel in physical terms by 36.3% compared to the same period last year, to 705,625 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, in monetary terms, exports of semi-finished carbon steel products fell by 37.6% to $342.978 million.
The main exports were to Bulgaria (39.22% of shipments in monetary terms), Turkey (16.22%), and Poland (14.86%).
During the period in question, Ukraine imported 19,472 thousand tons of semi-finished products worth $14.943 million, mainly from Oman (32.95%), Germany (25.28%), and Italy (21.77%).
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine increased exports of semi-finished products made of carbon steel in physical terms by 56.7% compared to 2023, to 1 million 886.090 thousand tons, with revenue in monetary terms growing by 52.4% to $927.554 million. The main exports were to Bulgaria (32.06% of supplies in monetary terms), Egypt (18.50%), and Turkey (11.14%).
In 2024, Ukraine imported 306 tons of semi-finished products worth $278 thousand from the Czech Republic (88.13%), Romania (7.19%), and Poland (2.88%), while in 2023, it imported 96 tons worth $172 thousand.
The volume of passenger car imports to Ukraine, including cargo-passenger vans and racing cars (UKT ZED code 8703), increased by 21.1% in July this year compared to June 2025, to $608.443 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, China ($147.87 million) became the leader among the three largest suppliers of cars to Ukraine last month, while in June it was not among the top three.
The United States ranked second, with imports from this country increasing by 30% to $106.82 million, and Germany ranked third, with imports of passenger cars increasing slightly to $87.14 million.
Japan did not make it into the top three last month, with imports worth $62.53 million in June.
At the same time, in January-July of this year, passenger cars worth more than $3.16 billion were imported into Ukraine, with Germany ($561.47 million), the US ($525.16 million), and China ($407.67 million) being the largest suppliers.
Imports of passenger cars from other countries during the same period amounted to $1.67 billion.
At the same time, in January-July, Ukraine exported only $4.54 million worth of such vehicles, in particular to the UAE (29.3%), the Czech Republic (15.7%), and Poland (11%).
According to the State Customs Service, passenger cars accounted for 6.89% of total imports to Ukraine in January-July and 0.02% of exports.
As reported, in 2024, passenger cars worth $4.385 billion were imported into Ukraine, 8% more than a year earlier, and $10.1 million worth were exported (2.7 times less).
The top three countries from which the most cars were imported last year were the United States ($817.9 million, an increase of 13.2% compared to 2023), Germany ($682.16 million, an increase of 5.8%), and Japan ($495.71 million, a decrease of 12%).
